Anti-Lapid Law #2 Ready for First Reading

The bill would force a person who declares his intention to run for Knesset to register as a party.

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Gil Ronen, 06/03/12 21:20

Yair Lapid

Israel news photo: Flash 90

The Knesset's House Committee has completed the preparation of a bill dubbed "Lapid Bill #2" for a first reading in the plenum.

The bill is named for Yair Lapid, the Channel 2 star newscaster who recently announced he will be running in the next national elections. It was authored by House Committee Chairman MK Yariv Levin (Likud), and would make Lapid's road to the Knesset less smooth, if it passes. It would also cause similar problems to Aryeh Deri, former head of the Shas party, who is hoping to return to the Knesset.

The bill would make it obligatory for anyone who declared his intention to run for Knesset to register as a party. This would make him subject to the demands that other parties have to abide by, as regards transparency, reporting donations and the like.

MK Levin explained: "Lapid has to show minimal public decency and expose his sources of funding even before the law is ratified. The entire public deserves to know where the money is coming from, and we must safeguard the transparency and purity of election procedures."

Lapid has said that he will not join Kadima, which is no more than "a bunch of cynical politicians." It is not known what Kadima's members believe in, "if they believe in anything," he explained. Nor would he join Labor, because its leader belongs to the radical left wing, politically and economically.

The "first Lapid Law" was a bill that would have set a cooling off period for journalists who wish to enter politics. Its legislation has been frozen, however.